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Contact:
CLEAN
Chair
and
Minnesota
State
Rep.
Jeremy
Kalin
[email protected]
or
612‐875‐2546
January
25,
2010
President
Barack
Obama
Speaker
of
the
House
Nancy
Pelosi
House
Minority
Leader
John
Boehner
Senate
Majority
Leader
Harry
Reid
House
Minority
Leader
Mitch
McConnell
Members
of
the
111st
Congress
Dear
President
Obama,
Speaker
Pelosi,
Representative
Boehner,
Leader
Reid,
Senator
McConnell,
and
all
members
of
the
111st
Congress,
As
leaders
in
state
legislatures
across
the
country,
we
call
on
you
to
pass
comprehensive
clean
energy
jobs
and
climate
change
legislation.
State
legislators
have
been
leading
clean
energy
efforts
for
decades.
As
the
laboratories
of
democracy,
states
have
proven
that
clean
energy
jobs
and
climate
legislation
results
in
job
growth,
in
greater
security,
and
in
spurring
American
leadership
and
innovation.
CLEAN
ENERGY
JOBS
29
states
have
passed
Renewable
Portfolio
Standards
and
four
more
have
set
renewable
energy
goals,
requiring
that
a
significant
percentage
of
that
states’
electricity
be
generated
from
non‐fossil
fuels.
These
renewable
electricity
requirements
have
led
to
significant
job
growth
in
the
clean‐energy
sector.
Nearly
every
state
in
the
nation
has
made
energy­efficiency
a
priority.
These
energy
efficiency
investments
have
helped
major
industries
stay
competitive,
and
have
helped
schools,
cities,
counties,
and
other
local
governments
save
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
in
energy
costs.
In
states
where
renewable
power
and
energy
efficiency
is
a
policy
priority,
the
clean
energy
economy
has
outpaced
the
rest
of
the
economy,
in
some
cases
nearly
10
to
1.
While
other
sectors
of
the
economy
have
been
losing
jobs,
the
clean
energy
economy
is
a
bright
spot
for
job
creation.
State
and
local
governments
are
seeing
the
benefit
of
clean
energy
jobs
legislation,
but
we
also
face
steep
costs
due
to
the
risks
associated
with
climate
change.
The
costs
and
instabilities
involve
massive
flooding
and
major
hurricane
damage,
sustained
droughts
and
widespread
agricultural
pests
and
diseases,
and
major
biological
disruptions
affecting
our
water
and
food
supply,
health
care,
and
public
safety.
These
catastrophic
costs
affect
insurance
payouts
and
higher
premiums
for
private‐
and
public‐sector
policyholders.
They
also
involve
unprecedented
economic
losses
to
industry
and
to
federal,
state
and
local
governments.
NATIONAL
SECURITY
America’s
dependence
on
foreign
energy
makes
our
nation
vulnerable,
in
terms
of
economics
and
national
security.
According
to
the
Energy
Information
Agency,
our
federal
energy
trade
deficit
is
approximately
$1
billion
a
day,
or
more
than
$10,000
a
second.
To
fuel
our
economy,
we
depend
on
unstable,
unfriendly
nations
who
don’t
share
American
values.
As
a
result,
in
the
words
of
former
CIA
Director
James
Woolsey
and
Senator
John
McCain,
we
are
funding
both
sides
of
the
war
on
terror.
Our
nation’s
most
respected
military
leaders
recognize
that
climate
change
is
a
threat
multiplier
for
instability
in
the
most
volatile
regions
of
the
world.
The
climate
change
threat
presents
significant
national
security
challenges
for
the
United
States
–
challenges
that
should
be
addressed
today,
because
they
will
almost
certainly
get
worse
if
we
delay.
AMERICAN
LEADERSHIP
AND
INNOVATION
The
global
economy
is
increasingly
a
clean
energy
economy.
We
must
ensure
that
we
do
not
replace
our
reliance
on
Middle
Eastern
oil
with
a
reliance
on
Chinese
solar
panels
and
South
American
biofuels.
As
a
nation,
we
have
always
relied
on
the
ingenuity
of
the
American
people
to
solve
our
problems,
and
a
federal
clean
energy
jobs
and
climate
bill
will
give
American
innovation
the
chance
to
shine
again.
Through
its
centrally‐controlled
economy,
China
has
quickly
leaped
ahead
on
renewable
energy
development,
including
the
world’s
largest
solar
power
plant.
India
is
moving
forward
with
its
ambitious
National
Action
Plan
on
Climate
Change.
The
United
States
of
America
cannot
allow
nearly
every
other
nation
to
beat
us
to
the
clean
energy
economy.
Today,
American
industry
faces
a
confusing
patchwork
of
state
incentives,
regulation
and
energy
and
emission
targets
that
hinders
innovation.
Only
Congress
can
provide
a
predictable,
national
framework
that
will
spur
innovation
and
discovery
in
the
clean
energy
sector.
Forty
years
ago,
the
Apollo
11
mission
provided
a
dramatic
display
of
America’s
innovation
and
spirit
of
discovery.
President
John
F.
Kennedy
explained
that
we
chose
to
“go
to
the
moon
in
this
decade
and
do
the
other
things,
not
because
they
are
easy,
but
because
they
are
hard,
because
that
goal
will
serve
to
organize
and
measure
the
best
of
our
energies
and
skills.”
The
clean
energy
and
climate
challenge
is
America’s
new
space
race.
The
United
States
has
never
backed
down
from
a
challenge
on
this
scale,
and
we
urge
you
to
again
place
our
country
at
the
forefront
of
innovation
and
prosperity.
We,
the
undersigned
state
legislators,
call
on
you
to
enact
comprehensive
clean
energy
jobs
and
climate
legislation
that
relies
on
continued
close
collaboration
between
state
and
federal
governments.
We
pledge
our
support
in
pursuit
of
a
more
prosperous,
more
secure,
and
more
energy
independent
America.
Sincerely,
CLEAN
Chair,
Minnesota
State
Rep.
Jeremy
Kalin,
on
behalf
of
1,198
state
lawmakers
from
49
states